Transition Blindside Prototype
Wednesday, April 25th, 2007The new evolution of the Transition Gran Mal. The Transition Blindside. Check out the spec’s inside.
“The Blindside is our new 8″ rear travel DH frame that is replacing the Gran Mal. The new Blindside frame is lighter, lower and has shorter stays to give it better handling characteristics as well as making it a more versatile frame for DH and freeride disciplines.”
The Blindside is Transition Bikes new 8†rear travel DH frame that is replacing the Gran Mal. The new Blindside frame is lighter, lower and has shorter stays to give it better handling characteristics as well as making it a more versatile frame for DH and freeride disciplines.
FEATURES:
Interchangeable dropout system so you can use standard QR 10mm x 135mm wheels or 12mm x 135mm thru axle. We did this because we know many of us can blow through wheels so it is nice to be able to use a standard QR wheel from another bike when you need to and there are way more standard QR 135 wheels available.
Transition Bikes floating disc brake system. We designed a floater to work exclusively with our bike and allow you to use any 12mm x 135mm thru axle wheel.
- 3 Sizes to choose from. We now have a small, medium and large to fit a wider range of riders.
- Improved geometry, shorter wheelbase, lower bottom bracket, shorter stays.
- Half pound lighter than Gran Mal. Blindside is 8.2lbs without shock.
- 1.5 headtube
- ISCG chainguide mounts
WHY WE CHANGED THE GRAN MAL
The Gran Mal was an excellent bike for us but it had some limitations with the sizing. Due to the shock configuration and eye to eye we were only able to do two sizes. Many of our customers asked us for smaller sizes, but it wasn’t possible with the current design. We decided to start from scratch and design a large travel bike that had more characteristics of our slopestyle bike the BottleRocket. This would make the new Blindside extremely versatile for multiple disciplines of riding. The reason we changed the name was that Kyle had issues with it so we thought this would be a great time to give it a new name to go with the new look and feel.
THINGS TO BE WORKED OUT
We definitely want to make this bike front derailleur compatible so we are still figuring out if we are going to do a front derailleur post for one version and another version without that will be singlering upfront compatible only. We are also working on possible other options to make a front derailleur work without the additional post for mounting. We are currently prototype testing both versions.
Kevin Menard
[disucss]
Previous Coverage
April 25th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
it’s not just taking notes from the BR
it’s just an 8″ bottlerocket with a floating rear…way to push the envelope…
April 25th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
It is just a prototype, i’ll wait till the final product to make any judgments on it.
April 26th, 2007 at 12:27 am
They need to loose the tube for the FC, it looks really dumb.
April 26th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
As a BottleRocket owner, I love the idea of having a bigger bike built around the same amazing handling characteristics I already enjoy.
The floating brake is a nice addition and the lower weight will translate into quicker race times, so what’s not to like in contrast to the bike it’s replacing?
July 17th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Gran Mal was an AWESOME name for a bike. Stupid Kyle. LOL Keep up the great work gentlemen!